Other Side of the World
by iWorkForVanilla
Summary: Maura is Chief ME and is doing a project with the Isles Foundation, reaching out to fighting marines, when she gets acquainted with Corporal Rizzoli. They continue to communicate throughout the war and Cpl Rizzoli gets a little curious about the Doctor. Read if you like.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This idea had been swirling around in my head for quite some time so I'm finally documenting it. I am aware that we aren't at war with Somalia, I just closed my eyes and chose a random spot on my map. (X**

**Well, here's the first of many chapters, hope you stick around and enjoy!**

* * *

Being the caring person that she was, Maura Isles, Head of the Isles Foundation, was working on a project for the soldiers fighting in the ongoing war with Somalia.

She'd instructed everyone to write a letter to those serving overseas in hopes of making pen pals and letting them know just how much they were appreciated. This week, the letters were going to the marines stationed in Somalia.

While everyone was putting the closing words on their letter, she sat down at her desk and begun writing her appreciation letter.

_Dear Soldier,_

_Hello, I'm Dr. Maura Isles and I currently reside in Boston Massachusetts. I would just like to tell you how much I appreciate all that you're doing for our country. It takes a certain brave soul to do that, and I deeply admire that. I hope you find the time to read this and it brightens your day even the slightest bit. Thank you so much for putting your life on the line every day._

_Signed,_

_Maura Isles._

Maura reread the letter making sure it was in fact grammatically correct. _Short and sweet _she thought.

Approving the letter, she sealed it inside of its envelope and placed it in the box, ready to be shipped off.

Dropping the box of letters off at the post office, she began thinking about the project she was doing.

_I really hope they enjoy the letters. It must be so hard to have probably left behind a loving family to fight a battle that is not yours. God I wish the war would just end… it'd save so many innocent lives. Maybe the letters will let them know that there are people here rooting them on so they won't be too discouraged. Hopefully this will all be over soon._

Climbing into her car, she returned back to the office to lock up before going home.

* * *

"Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die."

― Herbert Hoover


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for the kind reviews! This story is already starting to grow on me(:**

**Here's a longer chapter for you all. Hope you enjoy. **

**xx**

* * *

**Overseas**

It'd been three weeks of fighting nonstop in the terrain of Somalia and all Marines were more than grateful to be returning back to base for the night. Once they were back at base, all of the marines were all exhausted from the day's combat. They'd lost three men within the three weeks, three men who were scheduled for leave within the next month, and everyone was feeling the usual dark cloud suffocating them. After showering, they all crowded around the dinner table for a quick feast of the not so tasty meal of the day.

Gathered around the table with bowls of… something mysterious in front of them, all of the marines quickly dug in and engaged in small talk. Well, everyone but Corporal Rizzoli.

"Jane, what's up? I know the food sucks but you're usually inhaling it." Asked Jane's best friend Lance Corporal Barry Frost. On Frost's 26th birthday, he and Jane decided to enlist together for the war at that time was really heating up. Now, three years later, they we're finally starting to see the war for what it really was – a marionette act.

"Huh? Oh nothin' Frost." She replied, pushing the peas around on her plate. "I don't know why the hell they serve me the peas, I never eat them." She slid the plate into the middle of the table, sighing.

"Jane, we've known each other since high school, I know when something's not right. Spill it."

No response.

He decided to press more. "Jane, you've got to get it off of your chest, the longer it sits there, the more it's gonna eat away at you and soon, you're gonna explode."

"You're right man. I don't know, I guess losing Reynolds, Adams, and Mears last week is still kinda weighin' on me." She began to twiddle her thumbs.

"Yeah, it's a little tough on everybody, but you can't stop death." He said trying to comfort his friend.

"I'd be damned if you couldn't; well, in this case you could have. All they had to do was talk themselves out of enlisting. It was their first year Frost, they thought they were going to be heroes for our country and ended up dying for it."

"I think if all of us are here, that'd be the only reason we'd die. For our country…"

Jane interrupted. "And that's the sad part about it Frost. We're constantly putting our life on the line – every single day we put our life on the line. We're willing to put ourselves in these positions and conditions every day. We leave behind our families, our relationships turn to complete shit, and we're only living off of chance each day that we don't die. We're doing all of this, giving up a lot, for a war we have absolutely no background knowledge on… It's just frustrating you know."

Frost took one look at his friend and saw sadness, frustration, and submission in them. He knew this could one day happen to Jane. He'd seen it happen to lots of other marines who had become partially traumatized by the ongoing war. However, he was not going to let his friend become succumbed to the dark sorrow the war could offer.

"Yeah I know Jane. When we come into these situations, we are completely aware of the consequences but I think the urge to end this all and defend our country over shadow the consequence. They want the justice just as bad as you and I do. Don't let it eat away at you. It'll all be over before you know it."

Before Jane could respond, their Sergeant Major came into the dining hall holding an open box. "Alright, apparently these letters came when we were all out in combat. They're from the Isles Foundation. They wanted us to know they appreciate what we're doing for the country. I think the polite thing to do is at least respond with a thank you of some sorts, so I'm requiring it." He dropped the box down on the table and walked out the room. "Enjoy."

Everyone stared at the box in pure silence before turning to look at Jane.

"What? What are you all looking at?" she asked rather annoyed.

"Corporal Rizzoli, are you going to deliver the letters?" asked one of the first years who had an obvious and rejected crush on Jane.

"Why?"

"I just thought that you'd do it because you usually do... stuff here. Uhh – nevermind. Sorry Corporal." The young boy quickly dropped his eyes to the floor.

Jane rose from her chair and stood in front of the box. "You don't get paid to think."

After seeing the boy's ears turn a crimson red, she proceeded with the letters.

After distributing each letter, there was only two left at the bottom, one for her and one for Frost.

"Lance Corporal Frost, you may receive a letter now."

"Thank you Corporal Rizzoli." He replied after taking the letter.

Jane took her letter and retreated back to her seat at the dinner table. She watched as all of the others read and discussed their letters amongst each other, happiness expressed all over their faces.

"I'm going to my bunk Frost, make sure they clean up after themselves." She handed her half eaten plate to one of the kitchen staff and walked off to her bunk.

"Umm, yeah, sure Jane."

Once she got into her bunk, she threw the letter in the trash, let her hair down, and crawled in her bunk to do some intense thinking.

_Why is this war going on, no one even knows what it's for?_ _Why do people sign up for war? Why did __**I **__sign up for war? Why didn't I talk myself out of it? Why didn't I talk Frost out of it? He's been my friend since high school, if something happened to him I swear I'd lose it. I wonder if it's too late to end this–the war… or even my life. I just don't understand why I thought this would even be a good idea. This war is beneficial to no one. NO ONE. Neither side is gaining anything; in fact, they're losing a lot, so why not stop it? All it's doing is creating hollow shells of who we once were. It's robbing us of our sense of humanity, turning us into killing machines. Why would someone care to write to us anyway? What's a fucking letter gonna do? Not like it can magically stop the war and send us all back home. Speaking of home, I wonder how Ma, Frankie, and Tommy are. This is all just bullshit. I need out of this place._

Jane's thoughts were soon interrupted when Frost came into the room. He took a seat on the side of the bed and sparked up conversation. "What's going on?"

Sighing but not moving, Jane replied. "Nothin' much, just thinkin'."

Frost sensed there was more coming so he just nodded his head.

"Frost, do you ever get the feeling that all of this is for nothing? That it's just useless?" Her eyes still hadn't moved from the ceiling.

"The war? Oh yeah." He laughed a little.

"I wonder, if no sides are benefitting from this, why not just call it quits? It's like trying to milk a dry cow."

"Your guess is as good as mine Jane. But there's not much we can do about it. I know it eats at you, the things war can do, but it's the inevitable–we can't stop it."

"_We_ can't stop it, but _they_ can. God, I just wish people knew what they were getting into before they sign up."

"True, but some people really want to do this Jane, no matter what happens. There's not much to do about that."

"Guess you're right."

"Hey, did you read your letter? Mine was from some guy named Dennis. He just wrote me a bunch of corny ass jokes and told me about his life. What about yours?"

"Uhh, it was complete trash." She laughed at herself. Despite how mean she knew it was to throw out the letter, she just had to make a joke out of it. And it was a damn good one.

"Hmm," Frost went to the trash can and pulled out the letter. "A-ha. You mean you didn't even open it?"

"Nope." She finally moved into an upright position. "Why would anyone want to write to us anyway, what good is it gonna do to us?"

"They just want to show their gratitude. And besides, we won't be as lonely over here if we had some type of connection to home. Some of these people could actually be descent. They could help us feel less pressure or stress. I kinda like the idea of having a pen pal."

"Whatever," she snatched the letter from Frost. "I'll read it."

She tore open the letter and began to read its contents.

_Dear Soldier,_

_Hello, I'm Dr. Maura Isles and I currently reside in Boston Massachusetts. I would just like to tell you how much I appreciate all that you're doing for our country. It takes a certain brave soul to do that, and I deeply admire that. I hope you find the time to read this and it brightens your day even the slightest bit. Thank you so much for putting your life on the line every day._

_Signed,_

_Maura Isles._

"Damn, at least you got a girl. One with a sexy name too. Maura."

"Shut up Frost," Jane gave him a small punch to his arm. "See, there's nothing special to this letter. It's just an appreciation letter, anyone could have written it." She said shrugging her shoulders.

"Yeah anybody could have written but they didn't. This Maura instructed her foundation to do this, she really cares."

"Yeah whatever. I'm sure she does." She said rolling her eyes.

"I'm serious Jane. You know there are those people who say they care and appreciate what we're doing, but they never do anything for us. This girl is actually trying to reach out to us, help us in one way or another. She truly does care."

"And I said I'm sure she does! And I' glad she does." She put the letter in her nightstand drawer and sat back down on the bed.

"At least think about writing back? The head of the foundation wrote to us, that's something that rarely happens." He made his way over to the door, and when he turned around he saw hesitation still on Jane's face. "She has a hot name and she admires what you do. Just let that sink in." He walked out the door laughing.

"Asshole." She called out to him.

"Hmm, I guess he's right. I could at least say thank you." She reached into her nightstand and pulled out some paper and a pen.

_Uhh, hey Maura. I'm Jane Rizzoli. I'm the Corporal here, but I really don't like throwing my title around so you can just call me by my first name. I really appreciate you writing to us. At first I thought it'd be completely useless but now that I thought about it, this could possibly be pretty good for me. Take some things off my mind._

_I'm kinda happy to know that you're from Boston, I'm from there too and I miss it a lot. Maybe writing to you will help me be a little less homesick._

_Thank you for your kind words and I hope we can continue writing… Maybe next time you can tell me a little about yourself._

_Signed,_

_(Cpl) Jane Rizzoli_

Jane enclosed the letter into an envelope and addressed it to Dr. Isles.

_Maybe this whole pen pal thing won't be so bad._

* * *

"There is nothing that war has ever achieved that we could not better achieve without it."  
― Havelock Ellis


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: The hiatus is over! I'm out for the summer so updates should come in more often. I am NOT confident with this chapter at all since it's been so long since I've written, but hopefully I start to get back into the habit. **

* * *

**Boston**

Maura was handing out the returned letters to her employees.

"Thank you Dr. Isles."

"Thank you Miss Isles."

"What you're doing is wonderful Miss Isles."

The expressions of gratitude kept coming as she handed out the letters; it seemed to take forever. Eventually, she reached the bottom of the pile and there was her letter.

She grabbed the letter and sat at her desk to read her letter.

_Uhh, hey Maura. I'm Jane Rizzoli. I'm the Corporal here, but I really don't like throwing my title around so you can just call me by my first name. I really appreciate you writing to us. At first I thought it'd be completely useless but now that I thought about it, this could possibly be pretty good for me. Take some things off my mind._

_I'm kinda happy to know that you're from Boston, I'm from there too and I miss it a lot. Maybe writing to you will help me be a little less homesick._

_Thank you for your kind words and I hope we can continue writing… Maybe next time you can tell me a little about yourself._

_Signed,_

_(Cpl) Jane Rizzoli_

She couldn't stop the smile that appeared upon her face and she didn't try to either. The letter was short and pretty much black and white, but there was just a feeling that came with it. Maybe it was the fact that whoever Jane Rizzoli is actually wanted to try to communicate with her even after she thought it was useless. But whatever it was, she liked.

While she was writing her letter, her cell phone went off. It was work.

Sighing, she answered. "Dr. Isles"

"Hey Doc, we have a body."

"Text me the address, I'll be right there."

She put her things away and began to lock up her office. Before leaving, she went to talk to her assistant. "Kate? Hi, I got called into work. Everyone has their letters and should be writing now. You can just send them off when everyone's through. If I'm not back by closing, close up for me." After getting confirmation, she set off to the crime scene.

* * *

The case took exactly a week and a half to solve, and between early days and late nights, she hadn't enough time to write Jane back. She felt really bad about it, so when she went home that night, she sat at her desk in her home office and started to write Jane.

_Dear Jane,_

_I am so, so sorry for not writing you back when I first received your letter. My work became extremely difficult, and I had no time to write, no time for anything really. However, thank you so much for responding to my letter, I'm glad that you decided to write back despite your previous thoughts. I'm also happy to hear that you're from Boston, I've resided here a great deal of my life (other times were spent out of the country) but Boston's always been the place that I come back to – I love it. _

_Well, what can I tell you about myself? Of course you know I am a Doctor and recently the head of the Isles Foundation (my father passed it on to me). I love science, art, and fashion. I have a pet tortoise named Bass, I've had him since I was a little girl. I have a pretty small family, so it's just me here in Boston. In my free time I like to go for a run, do yoga, or just simply enjoy a book and a glass of wine. Well what about you; what interests you? I look forward to finding out. _

_I hope to hear back from you Jane. _

_Happy (late) Memorial Day also! I'm so very thankful for all you're doing for our country. _

_Signed,_

_Maura Isles_

* * *

**Overseas**

Jane was lying on her bunk, with a forgotten sketch pad, thinking about her family back in Boston. In the last three years that she's been stationed in Somalia, she's had maybe ten letters at the most from her mother, and maybe fifteen letters from her father and her brothers combined.

Before Jane left for the military, her and her parents had gotten into a big disagreement.

* * *

_Jane had been working at Rizzoli & Sons Plumbing with her dad since she graduated from BCU four years ago. The money wasn't great, but it was enough for her to afford a small apartment in the better part of South Boston. _

_Their recent client came home to a flooded bathroom due to a busted pipe. The home owner, Jane, and her father walked away drenched from head to toe – but they got the job done, that's all that matters. Jane's father sensed the tension in between the two of them and tried to break it._

"_So how about that client huh. Pretty funny if you ask me."_

_Jane looked at him, then returned her gaze to the passing trees out the window. "The guy has to get his bathroom torn apart because of the flooding. I wouldn't really call that funny."_

_Frank knew he was walking on thin ice now. Jane usually had a funny bone in her, even at times uncalled for. "But his face was funny though right? I mean, the guy looked like he was going to faint at any minute."_

"_Yeah, his face was pretty priceless." She replied, eyes still roaming the outside._

"_Janie, what's on your mind? You're too quiet." He took a chance and took his eyes off the road to look at her. She had an uncertain look in her eyes._

_It took her a while to answer and when she did, it was barely over a whisper. "Me and Frost are going into the Marines pop."_

_Jane felt the air grow tighter as she sat on edge waiting for her father to reply. Much to her surprise, he didn't say anything and that caused her more discomfort. "Pop? Say something."_

"_No. Not now Janie." He turned into their home driveway and wasted no time hopping out of the car and stalking into the house._

"_Pop, say something!" She yelled, running after him._

"_What do you want me to say Janie?" He grabbed a beer out of the fridge. "Do you want me to tell you I'm happy for you, happy about it? Because I'm not!"_

"_Pop–"_

"_What is going on in here?" Her mom, Angela, came barging into the kitchen. "What is with all the yelling?"_

"_Ask your daughter Ang." He pointed to Jane._

"_Janie, honey, what's going on?"_

_Jane's eyes flicked between both of her parents, her mouth opening and closing, nothing coming out._

"_Your daughter and her bozo friend are going into the Marines!"_

"_Frost is not a bozo, pop!" And it was true, a little weird, but not a bozo._

"_Whatever Janie, you and I both know the guy's a little weird."_

"_Whatever pop–"_

"_Is it true?" Angela's mousy voice quickly quieted the kitchen._

_Jane sighed. "Yeah ma."_

"_When?"_

"_We're going to sign up tomorrow, Frost's birthday."_

"_Tomorrow?!" Frank yelled. "You didn't say you were going tomorrow!"_

_Jane lost her temper. "Because you wouldn't let me get one fucking word out! When I tried talking to you, you just ignored me. What was I supposed to do pop?"_

"_Don't yell at me Janie." He sat down his beer. "You know how I feel about the war, and now you're willing to let yourself go through that shit."_

"_Janie, I don't know where this is coming from, honey." Angela reached out to touch Jane._

"_Ma, please don't." Jane stepped back._

"_What's so wrong with Rizzoli & Sons? I thought you liked it."_

"_Okay, one: I am not one of the "sons", two: this has nothing to do with that, and three: I liked the fact that it helped pay my bills, I'm not plumbing material pop and you know that."_

"_Bullshit." Frank spat out. "Why you think you gotta be some kinda hero Janie?"_

"_Pop, I'm not trying to be a damn hero–"_

"_Janie, can you please just think about this?" Pleaded Angela._

"_I've already thought about it ma, for months now. I'm going and that's that."_

_Angela immediately caught tears. "My baby…"_

"_I'm sorry ma." Jane gave her mom a hug. "But I'm not your baby anymore."_

"_Please Janie…" Said Angela._

"_That's enough. If you wanna go across the damn world to die, then so be it." He pointed towards the door._

_Jane pulled back from her mother and glanced around the kitchen. "Well, I guess this is it." No one replied so she took off in her car before anyone had the chance to see the tears fall from her eyes._

_She spent the remainder of her time in the states avoiding her family and packing up her things, storing them in a friend's storage unit. She never saw her family since that day, she couldn't face them, but she knew that deep down they were less upset and more anxious for her. Hell she was anxious too._

"_Ya gotta do what you gotta do." She thought to herself._

* * *

"Jane?" Frost's voice shook her from her thoughts. "Jane, c'mon, we just got our letters."

Jane groaned and buried her face into the sheets. "No Frost, you hand them out."

"You know that's kinda your job." He replied laughing.

"Says who? And why would I want to hand out letters? There's probably not one for me anyway."

"Jane, that was only last week. You did say she was a doctor… She has things to do, things come up."

"Whatever. Besides, there's not much to say, she appreciates what we do, I said thank you, she didn't respond. End of story."

"No. Maybe there's one in there this week. C'mon." He lifted her off the cot and pushed her into the hall where all the soldiers were waiting for their letters.

"About damn time Rizzoli." One of the privates said.

"Hey, shut it." Replied Frost.

There were only a few remaining letters, one for McAdams, one for Durham, one for Frost, and one for Rizzoli.

_Wow, Frost was right… again._ "See, I told you Jane." Frost gloated.

"Shut up." She elbowed him in the side. "I'm taking this back to my bunk, okay?"

Jane sat down with a glass of water and began to read her letter.

_Dear Jane,_

_I am so, so sorry for not writing you back when I first received your letter. My work became extremely difficult, and I had no time to write, no time for anything really. However, thank you so much for responding to my letter, I'm glad that you decided to write back despite your previous thoughts. I'm also happy to hear that you're from Boston, I've resided here a great deal of my life (other times were spent out of the country) but Boston's always been the place that I come back to – I love it. _

_Well, what can I tell you about myself? Of course you know I am a Doctor and recently the head of the Isles Foundation (my father passed it on to me). I love science, art, and fashion. I have a pet tortoise named Bass, I've had him since I was a little girl. I have a pretty small family, so it's just me here in Boston. In my free time I like to go for a run, do yoga, or just simply enjoy a book and a glass of wine. Well what about you; what interests you? I look forward to finding out. _

_I hope to hear back from you Jane. _

_Happy (late) Memorial Day also! I'm so very thankful for all you're doing for our country. _

_Signed,_

_Maura Isles_

It didn't take long for Frost to come and bother her. "Goddamn, what do I have to do to get rid of you? I'm beginning to think you have a thing for me Frost." She winked and blew a kiss at him.

"Jane, now you know that is just gross." He pretended to throw up. "You so aren't my type."

"Whatever. You _wish _you could land a piece of ass like me."

"… what ass, Jane?" He didn't see the hand coming to slap him in the back of the head. "Ouch!"

"Anyway…" she pointed to his letter. "How's Dennis?" She asked batting her eyelashes.

Frost rolled his eyes at her. "Same as always, telling corny ass jokes to "lighten the mood" over here. What about your doctor?"

"Oh. She was just saying how work was taking up all of her time – and if you say "I told you so" I will punch you in the nuts." Frost quickly shut his mouth. "But other than that, she just basically told me a little about herself. She's from Boston too, so I won't be homesick as much I guess." She replied, a small smile on her lips.

"Speaking of home, when was the last time you–"

"I haven't talked to ma, pop, Frankie, or Tommy in the past year Frost." She dropped her head in her hands.

"I'm sorry Jane." He began to rub her back. "I'm here if you need to talk."

She rubbed her hands across her face. "Nah, I'll be fine."

They were both quiet for a short period of time, but curiosity got the best of Frost. "You never did tell me what happened…"

"Because I don't want to talk about it okay?" She felt her irritation rise.

"Jane, it's been three years. Three years that you've carried this around on you, letting it eat at you, and I still don't know what happened. We're best friends, you can tell me." He was growing impatient.

"You don't need to know what happened. It's not like if I tell you anything is going to change. We'll still be here fighting and they'll still be there, doing whatever it is they do these days. Just leave it alone." She huffed and shrugged his hand off her back.

"Okay, okay." He stood up. "I'm going to my bunk, I'll see you later."

"See ya."

Jane contemplated whether she should sit and continue to think about how crappy her life is, or write Maura back. She chose the latter.

_Dear Maura,_

_It's fine you couldn't write back on time, there's not really a deadline for these things so better late than never right? I think it's pretty cool that you're a doctor and have your own foundation, you get to save people and stuff while contributing to multiple causes. I like that, not too many people like to spend their time caring for others, well not too many people I know anyway. But, yeah, it seems like you're a genuine person and I admire that._

_Well, I really like baseball, and of course the Red Sox are my favourite team. (You have to have that Boston pride!) I played softball and powder puff in high school so I've always had a thing for sports. I draw from time to time also so that fact that you like art too is neat. I don't really have a pet before I enlisted. Oh, wait, I did have a fish but I flushed it before I sold my apartment and got drafted. I have two brothers, who are a pain in the ass may I add, and I still have my mom and dad, they all live in Boston. Other than killing people in my free time, (it's a joke) I like to play sports, (of course) draw, work out, do puzzles, hike, bike, or chill at the beach._

_What's the weather like in Boston? I know the June weather here is nothing too nice. It's hot as hell, not even a slight breeze comes around these days. I'm pretty sure it's hot in Boston also, but not like this haha. God I miss home so much, and even though this may sound weird, I even miss the noisy traffic and noisy nights. All that's here is animals for transportation if any transportation at all, and the silence of the night is unsettling. _

_Sometimes I wonder what it's like for the people we are fighting. We all know what the war does to us personally, but sometimes I think we don't think twice about what our rivals are going through. They're people just like us, with the same fears, and their families worry just like ours. How can we come to their terrain and fight someone who is much like ourselves? Is it weird that I think about that? Well, enough of me whining. What kind of music do you like to listen to?_

"Jane, we just got word that we're heading out early in the morning so get ready…" And just like that, Frost was gone. She quickly came to a close in her letter.

_Sorry Maura, duty calls, I gtg. Write ya later._

_Signed,_

_Jane Rizzoli_

_And we're back to the real world._

* * *

"Why do they never tell us that you are poor devils like us, that your mothers are just as anxious as ours, and that we have the same fear of death, and the same dying and the same agony—Forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy?"

― Erich Maria Remarque, _All Quiet on the Western Front_

* * *

**A/N: I was wondering, when do you guys think I should bring Jane home, soon (not too soon) or way later on? Let me know!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the lag, we've had storms for the past two weeks so wifi was spotty.**

* * *

_Dear Jane,_

_Well, I like different types of music, I listen to stuff from Beethoven to Guns & Roses. I suppose it all depends on what mood I'm in. What music do you typically listen to? What's your favourite song? At the time, mine is Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke. It's really fun to dance to. Do you like to dance?_

_Here in Boston, it's hot! All week it's been raining and so humid, and because of the weather, I can't go out to enjoy myself at the beach or anything so I just end up sitting at home with my tortoise… Well, when I'm not at work. And as far as Boston's traffic, it's still noisy and tiring as it's always been, haha._

_You're lucky to have brothers around your age. I was an only child and I would have done just about anything to have a sibling to fight with or to have fun with. I've always wanted to have a water fight as a child, did you and your brothers ever have one?_

_Your views on the war aren't weird in my opinion, Jane. Ever since I've learned anything about wars I never understood how one can feel so content with someone fighting their battles for them. I know at times it might be necessary, but how could you let someone die because you can't face your own problem(s)? That is one question I cannot answer, sadly. But I do have a question, and excuse me if I'm prying, but why did you enlist if you have the views you do? _

_Signed,_

_Maura Isles_

* * *

**A month later.**

_Dear Maura,_

_Hey, we just got back to camp, but like I said, better to reply late than never right? (:_

_At the time that we enlisted (me and my buddy Frost) I think we just wanted to help the country in any way we could, ya know? After I got out of college, I didn't know where I wanted to go in my life, I didn't really have a plan. I worked with my dad at his plumbing company, and I realized that I wasn't going anywhere. Back then the war was heating up, and I figured since there was nothing for me in Boston at the time, I'd be able to do something beneficial here. I knew of all the things that could happen while we're out fighting, but I never grasped just how serious these things could be. After my second tour, that's when I started to have a change of heart. I began to open my eyes and my mind a little more. I thought about how our enemy's parents might feel about them fighting… it's no different than our parents. Then I started thinking about the actual reasons for war – I came up with nothing. I began to feel like I was just being used to fight and die for someone who could've done it themselves, and I really hate being used. But, every day my curiosity grows and so does my desire to leave this place._

_Ahh, water fights. I __loved __water fights when I was a kid. I loved them even more when we all became adults… if that's not weird haha. My brothers are two and four years younger than me so when we were kids, they expected me to be able to beat them. But when we got older, they became a lot bigger than me in size, so they thought they would finally get their revenge. Wrong. I was still able to beat them. But my favourite fights were paintball fights or snow fights – god those were so fun. Me, my dad, and my brothers built a fort in our backyard for our paintball fights, my ma thought it was a treehouse :P, and it was just awesome. What kind of things did you do as a kid? What were you like as a kid?_

_I am the worse dancer ever! I'm scrawny as hell and 5'10; you can only imagine how I dance. It's just an awkward, horrible sight haha. My ma put me in ballet when I was six, even then I was awkwardly tall, and I think I was so bad, she took me out. Were you in any dance type things or do you just like to dance?_

_I think we'll be at camp for about two weeks; we should skype if that's cool. We won't have to have these lags in between our letters. Let me know._

_Signed,_

_Jane Rizzoli_


	5. Chapter 5

A couple days ago, Maura received letters back from the marines and was ever so ready to tear into hers, when she received a call into work. After going over evidence, or lack of, confirming the death was an act of suicide, and completing the necessary paperwork, Maura finally retired home early for the weekend.

Once she was in her home, she quickly shed her clothes, putting on more comfortable ones, fixed a small dinner for one, and began reading her letter.

She finished reading the letter from Jane and couldn't stop the slight chuckle that came out. Picturing a 5'10 figure trying to move gracefully certainly is a sight… a funny one at that.

But the smile slowly faded once she realized the paleness her childhood against Jane's.

_Dear Jane,_

_As a kid, I wasn't as… adventurous as you were. I was always quiet around the other children. I liked to study and discover things, so I often was by myself. I liked to further my knowledge; learn about bodies, the sky, earth, anything really, so that was a buzz-kill for most of the kids around me. But it's what __**I **__liked, and still do. _

Maura was interrupted in the middle of her letter by her cell phone.

"Dr. Isles."

"Maura,"

"Oh, hello mother. How are you?"

"I'm not doing too well, Maura." Constance coughed on the other end. "I think I may have contracted a disease."

Maura sighed, her mother was always a bit dramatic. "What are your symptoms? Are you having any?"

"Umm, yes. I have a fever of 102, I can't seem to keep down any food or drink, and I have motion sickness, it hurts to move–my muscles are extremely sore." She groaned.

"Have you experienced diarrhea?"

She heard Constance gasp on the other end. "Maura! A lady never speaks like that. It's not very attractive dear."

Maura rolled her eyes, "Have you?"

"… Yes." She replied softly.

"Hmm, sounds like food poisoning." She said more to herself than the lady on the other end.

"Food poisoning? Oh no, dear, I think you may be mistaking. I haven't eaten at any of the _regular_ restaurants here."

"Mother, I am almost 100% sure, you are experiencing all of the symptoms." Maura put her writing pad away; it was obvious she wouldn't be finishing her letter today.

"Oh my... Maura, you have to care for me."

"Mother, I can't just drop everything to come to you, I have work, and upcoming conferences. Where are you?"

"Can't you take a leave, just until I'm better. Surely they'll excuse you for taking care of your sick mother. I don't know where else to get help. And I'm at the house in New York."

"You could go to the doctor or the hospital –"

"Maura, that is just ridiculous," She interrupted. "I have a doctor for a daughter so it's very convenient; the hospitals aren't quite too clean dear, being that they're open to the public and what not. I'd rather you take care of me."

"Fine," Maura huffed. "I'll take a leave. I'll take the next flight there."

"See you soon." And without another word, she hung up.

"You're welcome." Maura said sullenly to the disconnected line.

Maura called into work, taking leave for one week and booked her flight to New York which was to leave at 8 o'clock. _I can't gather all I need in five hours!_ She thought.

She packed her clothes and other necessities, called Kate, her assistant, to watch after the foundation while she's gone. She called Bass's caregiver to alert her of her leave and quickly finished off Jane's letter.

_Dear Jane,_

_As a kid, I wasn't as… adventurous as you were. I was always quiet around the other children. I liked to study and discover things, so I often was by myself. I liked to further my knowledge; learn about bodies, the sky, earth, anything really, so that was a buzz-kill for most of the kids around me. But it's what __**I **__liked, and still do. I did take ballet classes, I always loved to dance; but now, I have no time for it so I just stick to dancing around the house and in the shower. I can only imagine how you looked prancing around on stage. 5'10 is fairly tall, I'm only 5'7 so it's tall to me, and if you're as "scrawny" as you say, I can imagine how funny that would be.(:_

_I would like to Skype, I think that'd be fun. It'd be nice to finally put a face to a name; my Skype name is: Dr._MDIsles and I'll be able to chat whenever it's convenient for you, but keep in mind Somalia is seven hours ahead of the east coast, so please be reasonable with the time. I look forward to chatting with you._

_Signed,_

_Maura Isles_

She dropped the letter off at the post office, paying extra for a faster delivery, and returned home to double check that everything was in order for her last minute trip.

When Maura stepped out of the airport with her luggage, she spotted the driver her mother sent for her. Pulling up to the family house, Maura swallowed the urge to run in the other direction and unlocked the door with her key. She quietly tip toed through the house, purposely avoiding the places her mother usually occupies, and settled into her room. Not three minutes later, Maura crept back up the stairs to take a bath when she heard her mother whining, calling out for her.

"Maura, I feel ill." Constance whined.

Maura walked into her mother's room. "I know mother, you are ill."

"It's so good you're here. Do you think you could get me something to eat and drink? I'm terribly thirsty, and my stomach has been growling all day."

"You haven't eaten all day?" She asked. Sometimes she couldn't believe how helpless her mother could be.

"No," she stated as if it was the most obvious thing. "I've been waiting for you."

Maura fought the urge to huff and roll her eyes. "I'll be right back." Her shoulders drooped as she walked out the door.

_This is going to be a __**long**__ week!_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This one has been written and rewritten many, many times. I was just so darn nervous, it was kinda hard trying to satisfy everyone, so yeah, it took a while. I hope it's alright though.**

* * *

**Boston**

It had been five days since Maura has arrived in New York to take care of her ever so needy mother, and five days since she sent off Jane's letter, agreeing to skype with the marine.

All morning, Maura has been catering to Constance's every need, even taking ridiculous requests such as retrieving the remote for her mother when it was no more than three feet away. As Maura stood in the kitchen, preparing soup for her and her mother's noon lunch, she was trying to calm her excitement that the week was almost over and she'd be able to go back to work and be away from her mother.

Maura loves her mother, she loves her mother as if she were her own, but for the past years, she's becoming more and more dependent on her daughter. Of course Maura doesn't mind helping out her mother every now and then, it's the least she can do for someone who took her in as an unloved child, but relying on your child so much that you can't do anything for yourself is a little ridiculous.

"Maura, is the soup done yet?" She heard her mother call from upstairs.

"Yes it is, are you ready to eat or should it cool down?"

"Bring it to me along with some of those crackers you brought yesterday."

Maura bowled the soup for her mother and placed the dish of crackers on the side. When she reached the room, her mother took the soup off her hands and sent her about her way, not even offering a thank you. _You're welcome mother… Once again._

Maura slipped into a pair of yoga pants and a tank top, tied her hair back and decided to watch tv while enjoying her soup.

About an hour into the program, her laptop began making ringing noises. When she went to investigate, she saw that she had an incoming call on skype from a HolyMoly,ItsRizzoli. "Who is this?" She wondered aloud. Once she recognized the name, she let out an "Oh" and went to check her appearance. Seeing herself as presentable, she quickly accepted the call.

One the other side of the call, Maura could see a bunk with a forgotten sketch pad on the pillow. On the wall were a few photographs of a family, and one with a dark haired woman and a dark skinned male. "Hello?" She said, not seeing anyone in the camera's view. She heard a "shit" in the background, and soon the same dark haired woman from the picture, was sitting on the other side of the screen in a black tank top and a pair of basketball shorts. _Very handsome for a female._

"Hey… Maura?" The marine said.

Jane's voice immediately grabbed Maura's voice. It was so sultry. "Yes that's me. It's nice to finally meet you Jane."

"Same here, I finally get to put a face to a name." She smiled. "How're you?"

"I'm fine," She looked at the scrapes on Jane's face and the stitches on her right shoulder, her curiosity spiking. "A little tired but I'll be fine. How are you?"

"Oh, did I get the time wrong? I thought it'd be noon there… It's seven here – I can call back at another time if you wanna sleep? That's _if _you'd want to talk of course…"

Maura laughed at the rambling marine on her screen. "No, I just haven't been sleeping my full eight hours."

"Work getting the best of ya, huh?"

"No, actually. I'm in New York as we speak."

"Oh, you moved?"

"No, my mother has food poisoning. I'm here taking care –"

Maura soon heard her mother call out: "Maura!"

"I'm sorry, could you hold one moment please?" She smiled nervously at the marine.

"Sure, do what you need." She nodded.

Getting up, she replied. "It'll just be a minute… maybe three." She chuckled.

**Overseas**

Jane watched the blonde walk out of the room and once the coast was clear, she leaned back in the chair and exhaled. "Wow. She was hot." She said to herself.

"Talking to yourself again Rizzoli?" Frost took a seat on her bunk.

"I will admit to that, _Barry_." She glanced back at the screen, seeing no one there, she continued. "Man, you gotta see her, she's hot. She has the cutest dimples, and may I say," she feigned seriousness. "A great buttocks." They laughed.

"She? She as in Maura? The one you refused to acknowledge from the first letter?" He questioned, smirking.

"Yes, _that _Maura, smartass."

"I told you she was hot… you can tell by the name."

"Oh so you can tell what a girl looks like by their name, huh?" She replied laughing.

"Not what they look like, but if they're hot or not." He replied with faux wisdom.

"Oh really? So when Frankie told you that his sister Jane was coming along for drinks, what'd you think?"

"Oh no, no, you're not doing that to me…"

"Do what? I just asked a question." She smirked.

"That's a trick question!"

"Really? How so?"

"Because if I tell you, you'll either be grossed out or pissed off… either way, not good."

"C'mon just tell me."

"I thought you were going to be ugly as hell."

Just as Jane was about to reply, a soft voice came from the computer. "Excuse me?"

Jane spun around in the chair. "Not you, we weren't talking about you, Maura. Uhh, this is my friend Lance Corporal Frost…"

"But since we're not really being formal here, just call me Frost." He inserted.

"It's nice to meet you Frost." Maura politely smiled.

"You too," he stood up. "Well I'll let you two girls get back to it…"

"I'll see ya Frost." The two fist bumped and soon it was just Jane and Maura.

"Sorry, my mother's stomach didn't agree with the soup too much."

"It's fine. At least she's not like my mother, she yells at everyone when she's sick." Jane's laugh was short lived when she realized that if war was truly it for her, she'd never hear that yelling again.

"I suppose that is better than my mother; she's never satisfied when she's ill."

"I guess both of them are monsters in their own way when they're sick then."

They both laughed.

"So how are you enjoying your two weeks away from fighting?"

"God, I love it. I love sleeping for hours instead of minutes, I love being able to shower whenever I want, I love being out of that uniform… I'm blabbing, I know, but it just feels good being able to relax... even if it's not much." She sighed.

"Is your arm okay? It looks redder than it should." Maura couldn't help herself, she is a doctor after all.

"Umm," Jane became visibly uncomfortable. "It's fine. The hot water gets to it, I guess." She poked at the stitches decorating her deltoid.

"Don't poke it, bacteria could enter the wound causing infection… Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"You didn't."

"I did. I could see it in your face." Maura narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, studying Jane.

She huffed. "Okay, maybe a little…" She shrugged. "A lot. It's just that I haven't really made my peace with all of these." She gestured wildly to the healing cuts and bruises covering her face, chest, and arms.

"What do you mean?"

"I, uh, haven't accepted the fact that I've gotten my scars… trying to kill people." She admitted while wringing her hands.

Maura felt her heart drop… figuratively of course. "Oh Jane, don't think about them that way. You got your scars defending the country, your country. They show your commitment to protecting the citizens, protecting your marine family."

Jane was taken aback by the passion Maura was speaking with; no one's ever fought on her behalf. Of course there were times her parents went head to head with others during her teen years, but it was nothing more than a parent/teacher meeting gone wrong.

Looking at Maura's stern gaze, she knew the words Maura spoke, were spoken with conviction and from the heart. But still, why try to defend a trained killer? It's ridiculous. "That still doesn't change the fact that I'm a killer; that it's what I do for a living." She spoke with a small voice.

"Don't think about it like that, Jane. As morbid as it may sound, you're killing for a good cause. You're killing to protect. Say if someone were to threaten to kill you and you had the choice to kill them first, you would do it I would assume, this is hardly different. You are brave and courageous, not everyone could walk in your shoes."

Jane thought it best to leave the conversation alone. This Maura definitely wasn't one to back down and neither was she, they could argue all night and get nowhere. Why should she argue about her problems to a near stranger anyway? "Riight. So have you had any fun in New York?"

The deflection didn't go unnoticed by Maura, she was the queen of deflecting. She did however, allow it, she and Jane were just getting comfortable with each other and there's no reason to try to sabotage it. "Sadly I haven't. Since the week has started, I've been taking care of my mother or looking at reports from work. Whenever I come to New York, there's always a duty that needs to be fulfilled… So besides sleeping, what have been doing this week?"

"Ahh, just drawing. I listened to that song you were talking about. Um, Blurred Lines, you know I don't dance but I couldn't help moving every now and then."

"Yes, I know you don't dance." Maura unsuccessfully hid her dimple bearing grin. "What did you draw?"

Jane plucked her book from the pillow and began skimming through the pages to find a less personal drawing. "Uhh, ooh this one." She held up a drawing of a bridge over water. "I'm Italian, obviously, but I've never been, so I found a picture of this bridge online a few years back and drew it… I never looked to see what bridge it is though."

Maura looked at the screen in awe. "That's the Ponti Di Rialto. Located in Venice, Italy; construction began in 1588 and ended in 1591. It's the oldest bridge spanning across the Grand Canal, dividing the San Polo and San Marco districts."

"Okaaaay," _The lady's like a genius or something. _she thought. "Uh, do you like it?" She asked nervously.

"It's beautiful. All the detail, it must've taken you quite a while to complete it."

"Eh, a day and a half. I just wanted to get everything right." She tossed the book to the bed.

"Well, it definitely paid off. Have you ever tried painting?"

"Not since I was six, no. It's not really my style."

"Understandable."

"Yeah…" They sat in silence, racking their brain for something to talk about. "You said you were a doctor, what do you do? Do you work with kids, animals?"

Maura shifted in her chair, "Um, no, none of those –"

Jane spoke up. "Now _you're _uncomfortable, it's fine if you don't wanna tell me. I don't wanna pry."

"No, it's fine, I just don't talk about my work with a lot of people. I'm a medical examiner… _chief _for Boston."

Jane whistled lowly. "Isn't a medical examiner the doctors that cut up bodies?"

"It's more than just "cutting up bodies", but it is part of what I do, yes." She defended.

"Chief huh?"

Maura looked at Jane and couldn't read her expression. She seemed genuinely interested, but Maura knew firsthand how well people could pretend. "Yes, chief." She replied confidently.

"Impressive, that's pretty cool. So do you just do whatever autopsy other MEs couldn't or like, special autopsies?"

"I mainly do autopsies for BPD; but I do other autopsies as well… sometimes I may help other medical examiners on autopsies, or give my thoughts and opinions."

"You sound like you enjoy it."

"Oh I do, it's what I've wanted for a career since elementary school."

"Wow, that's pretty cool that you ended up doing that… it's like, your destiny or somethin'."

"Possibly… What career did you want as a kid?" Maura leaned forward, interested by the idea of learning more about Jane.

"Um, up until age eleven, I wanted to go in the military, but when I learned what can happen while fighting, I changed my mind… looks like this was my destiny too huh?" She chuckled dryly.

Maura tilted her head. "You didn't answer my question,"

"Yeaaah, I just, I'm not too used to talk to people about… stuff – myself. Sorry." She smiled nervously to the other woman on the screen.

"No apology needed, so what _do _you talk about with people?"

"I usually just talk about the other person; it's enough to satisfy them and get me out of the conversation." She actually chuckled this time.

Maura was fastly becoming fascinated with the dark haired woman. She had her walls up, like most, and Maura wanted so much to get a glimpse of the person behind those walls. She wanted to talk to _Jane,_ not Corporal Jane Rizzoli. "Do you want to get out of this conversation?"

That wasn't expecting that question. Confused, she replied "No?"

"Good, but if you don't talk to me, we'll keep running out of things to talk about and the conversation will get very awkward." She smiled to lessen the blow.

"I am talking to you, see?" She pointed to her mouth.

Maura pursed her lips and tilted her head, letting Jane know she can't get out of this easily. "I just want to know a little bit about you. Please?" She clasped her hands and batted her eyes.

_That is possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen._ "Fine, what do you want to know?"

"Yay! So what's your favourite colour?" _Simple enough._

"Teal and grey… what's yours?"

"Lavender –"

Jane saw Maura was about to ask something else and quickly interrupted her. "Ah, ah, my turn to ask a question," Jane smiled. "If you could have a superpower, what would it be and why?"

"I'd like to be able to fly because I hate traffic, I'd be able to navigate without the headache. Which would you like to have?"

"Invisibility or telekinesis, both allow me to pull pranks on people, so either would be fine with me."

"You enjoy pranking?"

"Yeah; this one time, me and my brothers brought some frogs from the store and hid them in my pop's sock drawer." She stopped to laugh at the memory. "My pop's pretty chill, quiet, I never heard his voice get so high. He has this thing about frogs, he hates them."

"Why?"

"I don't know, he's just disgusted by them."

Maura laughed. "Are you disgusted by anything?"

"Um, flies. I have a thing about flies, they're fucking disgusting. Anything that wants to eat crap is pretty nasty. I really, really hate them." Maura let out a gut busting laugh, causing Jane to laugh as well. "What?"

"Your face was funny…" She continued laughing. "Oh god, you really hate flies huh?"

"Yes I do, that's another reason I can't wait to get away from this place. There're flies everywhere. Here, I can't do much about them, but when I'm in Boston, I go ape shit. I just really hate them."

"I can tell," Maura sobered. "I'm not one for insects either. They don't bother me as much as they do you, but I don't particularly like them."

"Are there –" Jane stopped her question when she heard someone step in her room.

"Lunch's ready." Announced Frost.

Jane made a face. "Alright, man. I'll be out." She faced Maura.

"I heard," she nodded. "Nutrition _is _important." She smiled.

"Oh, they don't serve nutrition. They serve blended mystery goop."

"Go eat."

"Alright, I'll, uh, call tomorrow at the same time. That good?"

"That's great, it was nice talking to you Jane." She smiled sweetly.

"You too, Maura. See you tomorrow." Maura nodded and disconnected the call.

"Conversation good?" Asked Frost as they walked to the dining hall.

"Yeah, she's pretty cool."

"I never thought I'd see the day Jane Rizzoli has a girl for a friend."

"Me neither man. She's not like the girls I've come across, she's not as stuck up, ya know?"

"Yeah, you gon' turn the Rizzoli charm on? She's hot."

They stood in line, collecting today's questionable meal. "Nah, I actually want to be her friend; maybe eventually, but definitely not now."

**Boston**

After the call was disconnected, Maura leaned back in her chair and stared at the screen. She never expected that Jane would be as attractive as she was, cuts, bruises, everything. The voice, the dimples, the scarred, muscular arms, they were all things Maura suddenly found herself drawn to visually. But the personality is something Maura found herself liking. There was something deeper in Jane, something that caused her to be so guarded but yet so open. This Jane Rizzoli was like a puzzle, and Maura wanted to solve it.

"Maura, can you bring me some ginger ale?" called her mother.

"Yes, I'll get it."

* * *

**A/N: I'm putting this note on all my stories. I've gotten multiple PMs about my 'potty mouth' in the chapters, and I'm here to say that I didn't mean to offend anyone if I did. I have a sailor's mouth, I know, and I really don't feel like fixing it. So yeah... I don't even think my language in this story is bad... I dunno. But I hope you liked this chapter.  
X**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Okay, so just so you know, I was jammin' to AWOLNATION while writing this so there will be parts of one of their songs in this chapter... Just because I can do that.  
**

**Oh yeah, I've gone back through the chapters to check the edits, and noticed that, for some odd reason, they're not saving. For example: only some of the line breaks are making it into the story. I dunno what's going on but it's very frustrating.**

**Now onto the chapter!**

* * *

**Overseas**

_She was hiding in the murky waters of Somalia, the sun beating down on her only fueled her adrenaline, and it was bittersweet. She was waiting for the right moment to attack. _

_She waited patiently and finally saw her opportunity to make her move. With great stealth, she and Frost took opposite sides of the door, ready to nail the enemy that's taken out two of their men and one woman. "One, two, three…" Jane counted. And with a great skill, Frost silently entered the house and the two went in search of the gunman. _

_Finding him in one of the rooms upstairs, Jane, with much precision, pulled the trigger and blew a hole into the man. _

_Outside on the terrain, Jane was trying to warn a faceless young man, no more than age 20 to stay away. He kept walking closer, grenade in hand._

"_Don't come any closer!" Jane yelled. Her vision was becoming blurred as the young man came closer. Her training was failing her. "Stay away!" She screamed. Her head began pounding, her palms began to sweat, and it felt like her heart was shriveling. She needed to throw up. She needed to get away from here. _

_She tried wiping her eyes, no help. It felt like her body was being set on fire. She started taking steps backwards, shouting warnings and threats at the mystery man. Something about this guy was killing her – literally. Her eyes began watering, causing her vision to become even more bleary. Seeing no choice, she fired shot after shot in the approaching man's direction. _

_After shooting him down, her vision cleared and she finally got a glimpse of the man who proved to be her kryptonite. Her heart clenched at the sight. She dropped to her knees, crawling over to the vaguely familiar man. "Oh my god…" She gasped, covering her mouth. "Tommy, no, no, please no. Why? Why?" She repeated as she grasped her little brother's face, wiping dirt and blood away from his cheeks. "Why, Tommy?" She couldn't control the violent tears as they flowed out of her eyes._

_As Tommy was struggling to breathe, he pointed behind Jane. Jane looked over her shoulder and saw her brother Frankie, and her mother standing behind her. "He just wanted to be like you, Jane." Angela was weeping. _

_Jane watched with teary eyes as her mother began crumbling. "C'mon ma, you don't need to see this." Said Frankie as he tried steering his mother away. _

"_Why does everyone leave, Frankie? Have I done something to deserve this?"_

"_I don't know, ma. I'm here, I've got you and you've got me. Okay?" _

_Jane watched, speechless, as her brother and mother walked away. She turned her attention back to Tommy to find that he had her weapon and was pointing it at her heart. "Look at what you've done. This is all your fault." _

_There was no time to beg for mercy. He pulled the trigger._

Jane sat up in her bunk, panting and drenched in sweat and tears. This was the same nightmare, third night in a row. It must mean something, shouldn't it? Maura would probably tell her that her dreams were something dealing with her subconscious or whatever.

In the three days that she and the Medical Examiner have been talking, Jane's learned that Maura has an answer or explanation, most times both, for everything. It's like her mind was full of everything there is to know. It amazed Jane.

Jane looked at the clock and saw it was 9:30am; Maura would be still be asleep. Ever since the nightmares started, her sleeping has been hot and cold. Some nights she got a full nine hours; others, she got a fitful four hours. Those four-hour nights, she often woke up silently weeping in her sleep much like tonight.

Seeing nothing better to do, Jane decided to clean herself up with a shower. After dressing, she took out her sketch pad and continued the drawing she started three nights ago. The same night she woke up from her first nightmare.

The drawing was of Castle Island, a place her family often visited while she and her siblings were growing up. They'd picnic there, get in the water… it wasn't glamourous by any means, but it held a special place in Jane's heart. It was a piece of her childhood, a representation of a much simpler time in her life. It was the place she'd go when something was really weighing on her. It was her safe place.

There weren't many things that Jane had left to hold near to her. Some had been destroyed sentimentally some physically; but she knew that if she were to go Boston this minute, the island would still be there. She wouldn't be without. The thought alone made her anticipate her discharge date, whenever that'll be.

By noon, she was done with her drawing.

* * *

After grabbing a late lunch, Jane's mind wandered back to her reoccurring nightmare. _What could it mean? What was going on back in Boston? Was everything okay with the family?_

There were so many questions roaming through Jane's head it made began to hurt. Writing her family would be the cure to these nightmares, for sure, she concluded.

_Dear Ma,_

_Hey, it's been a while since I've heard from you. How's it going? You ever set up your own work? I know you were trying to last time you wrote me. How's pop? I remember you telling me he needed surgery on his rotator cuff, how did that go? Tell him I said hey. Anyway, you were on my mind so I thought it'd be best if I wrote you._

_I hope all is well. _

_Love, Jane._

Retrieving another sheet of paper, she prepared the next letter.

_Hey Frankie, what's up? How's everything going? I hope well. _

_I didn't have much to really say, you've just been on my mind so I figured I'd write, ask how you were. I'll get back to you later._

_Love, Jane._

And another.

_What's up little brother? What've you been getting into lately? Breaking any hearts? Haha. I wouldn't doubt it. Anyway, I hope you're doing fine, bud. You all have been on my mind._

_Catch up later._

_Love, Jane._

After addressing the letters, Jane set them aside for the time being. She laid face-down on her bunk and let out a long, deep groan. She began laughing, thinking about her written letters. It wasn't a laugh that was brought from humour, instead it was brought from remorse, shame, and embarrassment. An uncomfortable laugh – one to release the pent-up stress in the mind, to temporarily free you of any unwanted burden.

Anything to suppress the tears she so badly wanted to let free.

In all honesty, Jane's letters to her family were pitiful. Not even a fifth of the paper was taken up. What could she say to people who she was once so intertwined with but now the only communication is a stray letter every blue moon?

While her head was buried in the starchy pillow case, Jane heard footsteps grow closer. She didn't have to think twice about whom it was, Frost always knew when something was up. Jane felt the bed dip and the presence of a strong yet tender hand was soon on her back.

"You wanna talk about it?" He asked gently.

Jane subtly shook her head. "Not yet."

Frost felt a little dejected that his best friend wouldn't confide in him; but knowing Jane, she'd get it out when absolutely necessary."Ok." Was all he said. Even though Jane didn't want to talk, he knew what was floating through her mind. He knew about the nightmares and knew about the lack of sleep, he knew it all. But until Jane was ready to talk, he'd be more than willing to sit in silence and comfort his best friend – much like now.

* * *

**Boston**

Maura was extremely relieved to be back in Boston. The past week with her mother has been torturous to her emotional stability. Times with Constance have always left her that way.

There were the rare times when she and her mother would (somewhat) relax in the sitting room and discuss the upcoming autumn lines, and just enjoy each other's company. Then there were other times when Constance would ask the world of Maura and once she got what she wanted, she'd send Maura away without a 'thank you'. Maura would never let on, but those moments hurt her more than anyone would ever know.

But between the 'mama drama', as Jane would call it, said marine has been a breath of fresh air for Maura. Though Maura hasn't gotten through Jane's well-built walls, she's been growing fond of the parts the marine has allowed her to see.

Jane is witty, sarcastic, and very complex. It keeps Maura on her toes.

It was now eleven in the morning and Maura had a whole day to herself before she returned to work. She had no paper work to catch up on, all of her DVRd documentaries were watched, and she had no other obligations to catch up on, so she decided to do something she hasn't done in a while.

She plugged her iPod into the speakers and turned it up to a reasonable volume (being careful not to chance any hearing damage) and let her body move to the music while completing various chores.

Maura was so wrapped up in the music she didn't even notice the video call icon pop up on her laptop.

After the music faded out, she heard the last note of the skype ringer and rushed to take the call. "Hey!" She said, her breathing a little fast.

"Hey, Maura." Jane was a little curious about why Maura would be a sweaty, breathless mess. She hoped she didn't interrupt anything. "I didn't interrupt anything did I? I could call back later if you want." _How embarrassing._

"Why would you call back?" Maura asked, confused.

"You just seemed a little preoccupied… I don't want to impose on anything."

"Impose? I was only cleaning." Maura was searching her brain for any reason Jane would think she'd be busy, none came to mind.

"Oh! Nevermind," Jane said, waving her hand. "Forget I said anything. So I take it your plane ride went good?"

"_Well_, and yes, it did." Maura smiled at the marine. Even though they've only been talking for four days, Maura knew Jane hated to be corrected.

"Maura, you know I don't like being corrected." Jane couldn't help herself, she had to smile.

"And by now you should know that I don't care for incorrect grammar."

"Touché…" Jane has certainly met her match as far as arguments go.

"How has your day been?" Maura took a seat at one of the bar stools, prepared to talk until it was dinner time for Jane.

Jane immediately thought of Frost spending hours with her on her bunk comforting her, talking about the good times they had those few years ago. She doesn't really know what she'd do without him by her side. "It was a day…" She shrugged. "Nothing exciting happened."

"Hmm, I have reason to believe you're not telling me the whole story, but I'll let it pass. How are you sleeping?" Maura knew the marine has been having trouble sleeping, she could tell from the dark circles under Jane's eyes, but she didn't know why. She believed when the time came for Jane to speak on it, she will.

Jane was shocked. "How do you know I have trouble sleeping, not saying that I do, but if I did, how would you know?"

"You have periorbital hyperpigmentation and periorbital puffiness. These could be hereditary, but since we've been chatting via video, I've never seen them until now."

Jane stared blankly at Maura… With all the medical knowledge Maura has, there's no way she could have been anything other than a doctor. "Layman's terms, Maura, Layman's." Jane chuckled to cover up the feeling of inferiority.

"Oh! My apologies. You have dark circles around your eyes and slight puffiness." Maura clarified.

"Mmm, makes more sense. Well then, yeah sleep has been a little hard to come by lately… nothing new. Oh, we're heading out sometime this week, just so you know. I'll try to send a letter then."

"Jane, you're deflecting… It's alright if you don't want to talk about it, I won't make you, just know that I'm here if you ever want to – about anything." Maura said with deep sincerity.

"Thanks, Maura. I'm –"

"_WAKE UP _

_WELL IT'S NICE TO MEET YA _

_DO YOU HAVE A NAME? 'CAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO TEACH YA, BABY"_

Jane and Maura jumped simultaneously at the sudden burst of music coming through the speakers.

"_ALRIGHT_

_IF IT'S UNFAMILIAR _

_WHEN THE SHARKS ARE SWIMMING, WE WILL WATCH THEM KILL YA, BABY"_

Once the music was less of a surprise, Maura excused herself to go turn it off.

"_YEAH YOU_

_I'M A LITTLE SHOCKED _

'_CAUSE I CAN SEE THE FUTURE LOOKIN' THROUGH YOUR EYES_

_TONIGHT_

_DON'T YOU FALL ASLEEP, DON'T YOU FALL_

_IT'S ONLY GONNA TAKE A LITTLE TIME!_

_BEFORE WE START TO LOSE OUR MINDS_

_WE'RE LEAVIN' ALL THE HATERS BEHI–"_

And just like that, the music was gone and Maura was reappearing in front of the camera, a deep red.

"I liked that song, never heard it before." Jane said, smiling at Maura's obvious embarrassment. "And don't be embarrassed, stuff like that happens."

"I know, but it's still a little inappropriate. I forgot to turn it off earlier." Maura smiled shyly and Jane could have sworn right then that it was the cutest thing she's ever seen.

"So I take it you were dancing earlier?" Jane smirked, picturing the good doctor here, moving her hips to the music.

Maura blushed deeper. "Yes. I finally had a moment to myself that I could enjoy. And you know how much I love to dance."

"Yeah, I do. Let me see you bust a move…" Jane had her famous grin on her face.

"What? No!"

Jane burst out laughing at Maura's tone. Her reaction made it seem like Jane was suggesting something completely ludicrous. "Why not? Maybe you could give me a few pointers… We both know I could benefit from them."

"No, I'm not gonna dance." Despite the conviction Maura held in her voice, she had the biggest smile on her face and was damn near purple from all the blushing. It was the cutest thing.

"Why not? I wanna see, I wanna learn."

"Jane, you and I both know that you do not want to learn how to dance."

"Well, you got me there. But why not?"

"Because… I'm just not. Maybe one day, but not today – okay?" Jane pouted. "I will, I promise."

"Fine, I guess that'll have to do. But I'll hold you to that!" Jane mocked seriousness.

"I know you will."

There was a silence, both women thinking.

"I know you just got back in Boston, but how is the weather? Has autumn set in?"

"It's very chilly; time to unpack the autumn wardrobe. And the leaves have already changed colours… so pretty."

Jane smiled softly at the memories of Boston in autumn, it was always one of her favourite times of the year. "I know it's nice… I wish I could see it."

Maura got an idea. "Next time I'm out, I'll take a picture and send it to you. Would you like that?" She smiled sweetly.

"I'd love it, thank you."

Maura and Jane spent the next two hours talking and scratching the surface of their budding friendship. Eventually, it was time for Jane to go to the dining hall which ended the conversation.

Maura spent the rest of the day exchanging summer clothes for autumn clothes and thinking of the next project she could do with the Isles Foundation.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I know, crappy chapter, right? Sorry, I was trying to write between practices and games so it didn't really come together. But oh well, until next time.  
Xx**


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